Frame for upholstery in pieces of sitting furniture



May 4, 1965 J, G. M. NIELSEN FRAME FOR UPHOLSTERY IN PIECES SITTING FURNITURE Filed July 23, 1963' Fa l United States Patent 3,181,912 FRAME FOR UPHOLSTERY IN PIECES @F SHTHNG FURNRTURE liens Georg lliartinus Nielsen, 27 Ved Bornrnen, Gentofte, Denmark Filed Aug. 23, 1963, Ser. No. 304,024 Claims. (Cl. 297445) The present invention relates to frames for supporting upholstery in standing pieces of sitting furniture.

The objects of the invention are to provide a new system enabling manufacturing in a factory of upholstery ready for assembling in many diderent forms of standing pieces for sitting furniture; to provide means for constructing a very resilient and comfortable piece of sitting furniture in using quite simple and cheap upholstery omitting the use of materials, which are resilient in itself; to provide a frame for upholstery presenting great resiliency while being free of noise.

These objects are achieved by making use of the frame, which in the following shall be described in detail under reference to the accompanying drawing in which FIGURE 1 shows part of a standing piece for a chair provided with an upholstery frame, seen from the side;

FIGURE 2 is a front View of the upholstery frame illustrated in FIGURE 1; and

FTGURE 3 shows, on a larger scale, a section along the line III-III of FIGURE 2.

In the embodiment shown the standing piece consists of two side members 1, firmly joined by rail parts 2, so that the piece forms a rigid unit. In this standing piece is suspended an upholstery frame 3, 4. The upholstery frame is of fiat band steel, assembled as a quadrangular frame with two longitudinal members 3 and two transverse member-s 4. Nearly at the middle of the longitudinal members 3 are fastened angle brackets 5, fitted for being secured in the standing piece. The upholstery frame 3, 4 thus consists of a resilient unit, clamped into the standing piece at the middle. The free ends of said frame may move elastically in relation to the standing piece.

The upholstery frame forms the chair back of an armchair, but it may similarly be used as a seat frame or as upholstering of other parts of sitting furniture. The upholstering can be made simply by using stretched rubber straps 6, Whereafter the upholstery frame and the straps may be covered with further upholstering material so that the Whole frame is hidden by this material.

The upholstery frame is also provided with cross members 7, but these will generally only be necessary in the case of very big frames in order to prevent them from being warped by the upholstering material.

The lower transverse member 4 may be furnished with support springs 8, which are fastened at a suitable place of the standing piece, for example on part of the rail 2. Alternatively, the support springs may be arranged to simply bear against the standing piece, when the upholstery, under load, bends rearwardly. In this Way the free motion of the frame part in question may be limited, so as not to move more than desired even when heavily loaded, without making it necessary for this reason to make the upholstery frame undesirably rigid.

As shown in FIGURE 3, the upholstery frame 3, 4 may be built up of members each consisting of springs 9 wholly covered by a lining 10 of rubber or like material.

3,181,912 Patented May 4, 1965 I claim:

1. A frame for supporting upholstery in a standing piece for sitting furniture, comprising a framework composed of longitudinal and transverse frame members of elastic spring material; brackets for rigid mounting to said standing piece; said longitudinal frame members an chored in said brackets at places lying proximate the middle of the longitudinal members, said transverse members interconnecting the free ends of the longitudinal frame members and being free of the standing piece.

2. The frame of claim 1, in which a support spring is interposed between a transverse member and the standing piece.

3. A furniture piece including in combination, a rigid support structure having a pair of spaced support portions, an upholstery frame work disposed bet-ween said support portions and comprising longitudinal and transverse resilient frame members, and bracket means anchoring said framework to said support portions and being the only anchoring thereof, said bracket means being secured to said longitudinal frame members over a limited portion of the length of said frame members and intermediate the ends thereof, said bracket means permitting said frame members to move elastically in relation to said support structure.

4. A furniture piece including in combination, a rigid support structure having a pair of spaced support portions, an upholstery framework disposed between said support portions and having first and second longitudinal resilient frame members, first and second brackets respectively anchoring said first and second frame members to said support structure and being the only anchoring thereof, said first and second brackets being respectively secured to said first and second frame members intermediate the ends thereof and permitting said first and second frame members to move elastically in relation to said support structure.

5. A furniture piece including in combination, a rigid support structure having a pair of spaced support portions, an upholstery framework disposed between said support portions and comprising a pair of longitudinal frame members of elastic spring material and a pair of transverse frame members of like material interconnecting the respective ends of said longitudinal frame members, and brackets anchoring said framework to said support portions and being the only anchoring thereof, said brackets being secured to said longitudinal frame members proximate the middle thereof and permitting said longitudinal and transverse frame members to move elastically in relation to said support structure.

References (lifted by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,254,379 9/41 Millar 297-284 2,542,931 2/51 Lightfoot 297457 2,726,713 12/55 Turner 297454 2,843,195 7/58 Barvaeus 297460 2,864,438 12/58 Levine 297-445 2,878,861 3/59 Molla 297-445 3,038,758 6/62 Molla 297452 3,055,708 9/62 Baermann 297--445 FOREIGN PATENTS 858,246 1/61 Great Britain.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A FRAME FOR SUPPORTING UPHOLSTERY IN A STANDING PIECE FOR SITTING FURNITURE, COMPRISING A FRAMEWORK COMPOSED OF LONGITUDINAL AND TRANSVERSE FRAME MEMBERS OF ELASTIC SPRING MATERIAL; BRACKETS FOR RIGID MOUNTING TO SAID STANDING PIECE; SAID LONGITUDINAL FRAME MEMBERS ANCHORED IN SAID BRACKETS AT PLACES LYING PROXIMATE THE MIDDLE OF THE LONGIDTUDINAL MEMBERS, SAID TRANSVERSE MEMBERS INTERCONNECTING THE FREE ENDS OF THE LONGITUDINAL FRAME MEMBERS AND BEING FREE OF THE STANDING PIECE. 